101314

My homeboys went to Belize and they brought me a wooden Permit. I actually think it's very cool and am appreciative of them remembering me! Nice to have the guys back in the shop and to hear someone else's fish tales for a change. It's been cold the last couple of days, snow in the mountains, nip in the air, and the flags have been blowing. One more day stuck in database/order hell and then a nice break to Louisiana is coming my way.
Order season is one in which has a lot challenges. Our industry is such that most things are made overseas and the things that aren't are relatively labor intensive. So, in order to have inventory next year, we have to anticipate demand and sales this time of year. The process involves looking at sales reports over the last few years by quarter and comparing them to on hand merchandise so that the inventory gaps are filled JIT. If you screw up, you're stuck with junk or don't have what the consumer wants when they want it. There's always a temptation to overdo it and go crazy with new stuff, so reading and understanding the drill down of the data as just data is always the hardest part for me. I'm an emotional person, so sometimes I just want to go hawg wild for unproven junk 'cuz I'm the only person in the world that likes it. Read the reports and don't be distracted by shiny things is my mantra this time of year.